Microsoft has introduced a new feature called Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, which is an AI-powered tool designed to assist businesses without requiring a subscription. This tool is Microsoft’s response to similar AI systems like ChatGPT. Initially, Microsoft launched this AI as Bing Chat and later introduced tailored Copilot GPTs and a subscription model called Copilot Pro, similar to ChatGPT Plus.
Microsoft 365 Copilot is available to all types of businesses that can use it across various Microsoft 365 services. Companies subscribing to Microsoft 365 Copilot for just under 30 euros per month and per user can access the extensive benefits of Microsoft’s AI. This includes creating custom agents to optimize business processes. However, many companies are reluctant to adopt Microsoft’s subscription model for Copilot 365. In response, Microsoft now offers an alternative with the new Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. This allows employees to access a free chat with GPT-4 support and use AI agents on a pay-as-you-go basis.
The Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat aims to encourage more companies to use AI by removing the need for a subscription. The chat feature is free, while the use of AI agents is billed based on usage. According to Jared Spataro, Microsoft’s CMO for AI in the workplace, the chat is free and secure, powered by GPT. Users can upload files, making it comparable to the competition, and Microsoft believes it even surpasses the competition at this level.
This free chat, equipped with a Copilot control system for data protection, allows users to conduct market research, prepare and review meetings, and facilitate document creation. Microsoft explains that with the file upload function, users can add documents to the chat and ask Copilot to summarize key points in a Word document, analyze data in an Excel table, and suggest improvements for a PowerPoint presentation. Users can also quickly create AI-generated images for campaigns, product launches, and social media posts.
The agents can be created in the Copilot Studio Agent Builder. They are designed to handle repetitive tasks and advance automation processes, functioning in customer service or creative contexts. The use of these helpful AI tools is charged per message. Companies can pay one US cent per message, purchase message contingents in the Copilot Studio Meter, or pay $200 for 2,500 messages per month. Microsoft provides an example calculation for usage costs.
A hypothetical agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat might use data stored in Microsoft Graph to answer employee questions about HR policies. If the agent consumed 200 generative answers and 200 tenant Graph grounding for messages in one day, it would cost 6,400 messages or $64 for that day. Another example is an autonomous agent responding to and routing inbound sales orders from customers, consuming 100 generative answers, 100 tenant Graph grounding for messages, and 800 autonomous actions, costing 23,200 messages or $232 for that day.
Normal responses count as one message, generative responses count as two messages, and autonomous actions by the agents count as 25 messages. Microsoft provides detailed information on how these responses are generated and how prices vary in a dedicated blog post and a YouTube video with an agents demo.
Microsoft intends for Copilot Chat to serve as an introduction to AI, making it easier for employees in companies to work with AI and generate some revenue through sporadic use of agents. This model is a compromise, aiming to get companies and their employees accustomed to using high-performance AI tools. This could lead to more companies eventually subscribing to Microsoft 365 Copilot, which offers the advantage of accessing a personal assistant in services like Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams, etc. Only this subscription model allows the use of agents based on company work data from Microsoft Graph and Graph Connector.
Users interested can test both the free and paid versions of the 365 Copilot app. Jared Spataro hopes for more users, stating that despite the challenges in tracking the naming journey and finding the product, there is a remarkable number of users on Bing Chat Enterprise, now renamed. Users find value in the product once they start using it.
Yusuf Mehdi, Executive Vice President and Consumer Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft, explained in 2024 why using Copilot can be beneficial for Microsoft users in their daily work. Copilot for Microsoft 365 is powerful for organizations because it works across all work data, including emails, meetings, chats, documents, and more, plus the web. With natural language prompts, Copilot can generate status updates based on meetings, emails, and chat threads. It is integrated into apps like Microsoft Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, enhancing creativity, data analysis, presentation design, inbox management, and meeting summaries.